South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1887-09-16
JACKS REFORMATION.

beer was nothing new in Jacks expert
ence, but the clans were something of
novelty to him. He had been spending
the day at Glen Island, and had par
taken SO freely of both the solid and the
liquid that he was puzzled MS to which
to attribute his unsteady gait. 1t was
l o'clock in the morning. He had just
left the elevated railroad and was zig
tagging homeward with his white hat
on the back of his head and his hands in
his pockets, singing softly to himself:
The man i'm the moon is looking, love;
He's winking, love; he's blinking, love;
And each little star will tell
Here Jack ran against tree and lost
the thread of his song. After recover
ing his hat, which had rolled in the gut
ter, Jack resumed his journey, and
turning up a quiet side street climbed
up front stoop and sat down upon the
topmost step. The moon was shining
brightly aud paling the street lamps.
The horizon was lit up with glow like
that of prairie fire, and the chimneys
across the way stood out black and dis
tinct against the glowing background.
From far down the street he could
hear party of serenaders singing an
old song which sounded familiar to him.
Jack was beginning to get sobercd. He
put his followed hand behind his ear
and listened. Yes, although he could
hpnr ha
so far away, he could supply them him
self:
There's heart beating for somebody,
Lighting the home he loves best,
Warming the bosom of somebody
Warming the bosom of somebody, oh.
and the ''oh" cane waited down the
street in a tuneful little cadence which
died away like sob in the distance.
The song brought to Jacks remem-
brance an old fashioned farmhouse on
Vermont hillside. There were horse
hair chairs in the room and picture of
Washington and his family on the wall.
In the corner stood little melodeon
with squeaky bellows, the complaining
of which he could hear even now
through all the intervening years. Be-
fore the melodeon sat Young girl
whose blue scarf matched the color of
her eyes and who was playing the very
tune he had just heard The "ohp' at
the end of the song came softly to him
out of the past and it seemed to Jack
to have something of regret in it. Jack
took off his hat and ran his hands
through his hair. He lapscd into rcmi-
niscence again, and remembered how he
had married the blue-cyeI girl and
brought her to the big roaring city; how
the babies had come one after another
until they had three; how his little
woman's eyes had lost some of their lus-
tire from weeping, and how he stayed
out late o nights drinking beer when ne
should have been home looking after
TIE welfare of his wife and babies.
BY this time Jack was thor
ougly sobercd and repcntant He
felt in his pocket for his latchkey, but
the key wasn't there. He didn't care to
ring the bell, because he was afraid Of
his wife's anger. The window had been
left up because the night was warm. but
he thrust his hands between the blind
Stats and tried TO undo the fastening. A
low growl made him withdraw his hand
quickly. Then il occurred to him that
it was only his setter dog, and ne
whistlcd softly to the dog and the ami
NAL whined a recognition. After strug-
Cling with the fastening until he sue
coeded in christening the window he
lodged on the window sill when he tried
TO climb in, and, loaded rs he was.
tectcrcd back and forth. mt the immi.
nent risk of tumbhng into the stone
basement below At last nc rolled into
the room with thump which shook the
whole house. He had just gathered up
his bruised body and placed it upon the
sofa when the door opened and his wife
made her appearance.
SO you've returned, have you. said
she sarcasticaly, while her eyes blazed
like ardent Goals 'Thc baby is sick
WIN inc Group up stars, but Of course
you don't care anything about that. We
might all bc taken down with the chol
era and you wouldn't know anything
about It, suppose you've had a very
pleasant time to-day with your friends.
and are rs drunk as usual. This thing
has gone on as long rs it is possible to
last. Get down, Rover. could curse
you, sir. Even the dog is n better pro
tector than you are. ! hate you. That's
what ! think you and she struck him
blow in the face with the fat Of her
hand which made his head ring. ooh.
you dcceitful wretch, il had pistol
would shoot you she continued.
Jack grittcd his teeth together and
Clcnchcd his la DIS. He halS .aeoso from